A Thank Ypu (gah!) then Chef Kinves (doh!) & Abrasive Selections
- This topic has 7 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 04/17/2018 at 5:18 pm by
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First, thanks to the active WE community for taking me under your wing (or at least tolerating both my humor and inexperience). You have no idea what that means to me and probably a thousand other guys with basic or even esoteric questions. There is a “value added” component to the after purchase aspect of WE ownership that I simply have not seen anywhere else (and believe me I’ve searched hi and low). Yes these are premium priced systems, but they are well enough recognized such that stone manufacturers are supplying abrasives sized and mounted for the WE. Congratulations to Clay et al for that accomplishment alone.
Now, the other part of my post. I’ve heard it repeated (often and loud) from various sources that there is no need to sharpen a kitchen knife beyond 600 grit or whatever that corresponding micron value might be. Could you all weigh in on that? I have some seriously expensive whetstones to 10k that I abuse regularly trying to enhance my blades by hand. I’m no sushi chef but damn I do find myself in love with a blade that is as slick as if it were covered with KY when prep cutting food for the stove or table. Keeping that in mind do you feel going as low as the entry level WE ceramics is of value or that perhaps investing in some of the aftermarket whetstones in lower mics would be a better choice. I’m not worried about asking that question here because I know the folks at WE won’t be offended by it or feel threatened. Which of course all harkens back to Part 1 of this post 😉.
Kitchen knives I sharpen for friends and family I usually take down to 1500 grit diamond stones followed by 4µ, then 2µ cow leather strops.
My personal Kitchen and Chef’s knives I take to at least 2000 grit or some even to 4000 grit with the Shapton Glass Stones and sometimes 6000 or 8000 if I want a smoother edge. It depends on if they’re a slicing style knife where I prefer a little more tooth or a push cut style knife that really doesn’t need the toothiness. I don’t need to sharpen these knives very often because many are made from hard durable steels, so I’m still messing around and learning or experimenting what I like best.
Marc
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Need is a strong word. I would agree that you don’t NEED to sharpen a kitchen knife beyond 600 grit, but you may prefer the way a knife cuts when sharpened to a higher level of refinement depending on how the knife is going to be used. I prefer my kitchen knives finished similarly to how Marc does: 1500 grit or 6 micron diamond lapping film and then stropped to give the edge that extra buttery smoothness. Knives sharpened like this go through bell peppers, onions, raw potatoes, and celery almost as if they were not there.
I participate in the Chef Knives to Go forum and there are numerous professional chefs who post on there. It seems that the majority prefer an edge of about 2000 grit for their daily driver knives because it gives them a good balance of refinement and some remaining tooth, but the opinions there also range widely. Some claim that they always finish their knives on 8,000 or 10,000 grit for a mirror polished edge and others say that they stop at 500 or 800 for their knives because they like the aggressive feel. It all comes down to a mater of personal taste at the end of the day as long as it is sharp.
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And thank you for reminding me that Mark has a forum on CKTG, much appreciated…I’ve enjoyed my email exchanges with him. George
George this Forum you may find interesting and helpful also
Marc
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I have been a proponent of “purpose sharpening” which does mean some of the knives I do are done only to 600 grit. I have not heard anyone say that all kitchen knives should be done to 600 grit only though. My kitchen knives are all 1000 or higher with the exception of 2, large knife for melons and such and a carving/utility knife mainly used for meat. I do a lot of hunting knives between 600 and 1000 but nothing is absolute in my world.
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